


Sirius's Letter

by damadape



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Awkward Romance, Christmas Fluff, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship, My First AO3 Post, My First Fanfic, My First Work in This Fandom, One True Pairing, Romance, Slow Romance, Teen Romance, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:34:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24038182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/damadape/pseuds/damadape
Summary: Harry asks Sirius for some advice on how to ask a girl to the Yule Ball. His suggestion gives him a whole new perspective on his best friend, Hermione.This is my very first fanfic ever. I wrote a simple Harmony story that works well as a One-Shot but I would like to add a second chapter to it; especially if the reviews are kind. I don't own Harry Potter, but I sure wish I did!
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter
Comments: 32
Kudos: 270





	1. The Unexpected Task

**_'It is traditional,' said Professor McGonagall firmly. 'You are a Hogwarts Champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter.'_ **

**_'But - I don't -'_ **

**_'You heard me, Potter,' said Professor McGonagall, in a very final sort of way._ **

Harry felt his mind start to swim as he left Professor McGonagall's classroom. No wonder there were dress robes included in the school list this year, he thought. Realising there was no one else in the corridor, he quickly remembered it was lunchtime, and that everybody had probably already headed to the Great Hall to eat.

As he started to make his own way there, Harry forced himself to look at the task at hand. He could already picture Malfoy making fun of him in front of everyone at the Yule Ball for showing up without a partner. Shuddering at the thought of the look on Professor McGonagall's face if that were to happen, Harry decided that there is no way that he will make a fool of himself like that. Even though he had no real clue of how to dance, he supposed it wouldn't be too difficult to learn a few simple steps. After all, he had managed to master the Summoning Charm in an evening, admittedly with Hermione's help.

Still, he could not help but feel anxious. It had never occurred to him that he would ever be in a situation that would force him to ask a girl to a dance. He seriously wished that Hagrid had given him a heads up about this instead of the dragons in the First Task.

Suddenly, Harry realised just how few other girls he actually knew apart from Hermione. There was Parvati and Lavender of course, but Harry had never spent a lot of time with them in order to get to know them properly. There was also Susan Bones and Hannah Abbot in Hufflepuff, whom Harry had sometimes exchanged a few pleasantries in between classes, but he barely knew them either. Ginny sprang to mind for a brief moment, but Harry dismissed that thought entirely. While he liked Ron's little sister, he knew that Ginny would probably spend the entire evening gawping at him, and that was something he was rather keen to avoid.

 _What about Cho Chang?_ said a little voice in Harry's head. _She's quite pretty, and she's a Quidditch player so at least you have something to talk about._

 _That's true, but it's not like she would ever consider going out with me._ Harry thought to himself.

 _Why not? You just got past a Hungarian Horntail in the first task. How many other blokes here can claim to have done that?_ said the voice again.

_So what? I want her to like me for ME!_

'Hey, Harry!'

Harry was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realise that he had entered the Great Hall. Ron was waving at him to attract his attention. Taking a deep breath, he made his way towards him and sat down. Ron looked at him curiously.

'You ok, mate?' asked Ron. 'What did McGonagall want?'

'Nothing. It's just …' Harry told Ron what Professor McGonagall said to him and his misgivings about him opening the ball.

'Oh … I get it, mate,' said Ron sympathetically. 'Well, you can't worm your way out of this one 'cos you have to represent the school!' Noticing how quiet Harry was, Ron added 'But it's not like you're going to have any problems. You just defeated a Horntail! They'll be queuing up from here 'till Hagrid's hut!'

'But that’s just it, Ron!' groaned Harry. 'I don't want to go with someone just because she's some sort of fan or something. I want to go with someone who likes me for who I am and whom I can actually have fun with!'

'Well, I can understand that Harry, but does it really matter?' said Ron, shrugging his shoulders as he dug into his lunch again. 'It's only for one night. How bad could it possibly go?'

'I don't know,' said Harry, Feeling like the conversation wasn’t going anywhere helpful, he tried to think of something else to say that can get Ron to change the subject, but he couldn’t really think of anything he wanted to talk about. Instead, he looked around and asked, 'Hey, where's Hermione anyway?'

'I dunno, probably up in the library looking up some more stuff for her spew thing,' said Ron, after a huge swallow. 'Hey, if you’re seriously worrying about this, I bet Hermione wouldn't mind giving you a hand.’

‘How do you mean?’ asked Harry.

‘Well, she can probably suggest a couple of people for you. Hell, I wouldn't mind if she gave me a name or two. I don't want to be the only one there without a date.’

‘Oh, right,’ said Harry, wondering why he didn’t think of that in the first place.

‘Although,' added Ron mournfully, 'with my bloody dress robes, I'd honestly rather stay in the Common Room all night with Crookshanks!'

'Yeah, I wish I could do that as well, mate,' said Harry, patting Ron gingerly on the back. Suddenly not feeling particularly hungry, he got up and said, 'I'm going to go and try and find Hermione. Maybe she's looking up something about the egg for me and I’ll tell her what McGonagall told me.'

'Yeah, you do that mate. I'm gonna stick here for a while. See you later!' said Ron, almost too eagerly.

Slightly suspicious as to why Ron did not want to tag along, Harry looked curiously behind him and saw Ron shooting a couple of furtive glances at Fleur Delacour, who was sitting with the rest of the Beauxbatons students. Grinning to himself, Harry left the Great Hall and headed for the library. He didn't have to go very far, however, as he saw Hermione walking along at a pace that Harry would describe as a great huff. Harry called out her name in an effort to catch up with her. She stopped, turned around and waited for him to reach her.

'What's wrong, Hermione?' asked Harry as he skidded next to her. 'I thought you were in the library. I was coming there to find you.'

'It's that stupid fan-club that keeps following Krum wherever he goes.' said Hermione, angrily. 'I can't concentrate with them twittering like idiots in there. I swear, I really don't know what they see in him. I mean, I get that he's a great Quidditch player but there's more to somebody than just being good at sports! Anyway,' she took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down a little before continuing, 'Why were you looking for me? Is it about what Professor McGonagall told you after we all left?'

Harry nodded, and quickly told her the same thing he had told Ron earlier.

Hermione gave Harry a small smile. 'Well, that's not such a big problem, is it? I mean, it's not going to be difficult for you to find someone, Harry. After the first task, your popularity has been on the mend. I expect there are quite a number of girls who would be glad to go with you!'

'But that's just it, Hermione! I don't want to just ask someone just because I don't want to show up without a partner,' said Harry. 'I want to go with someone who actually likes me for me, and not just because I'm the Boy Who Lived. And this stupid tournament is only making things worse!'

Hermione looked at him sadly. "Harry, I understand what you're saying. You're one of the most famous wizards alive today and you're competing in a famous tournament. Of course you'd want to go with someone who actually likes you for who you are. I don't blame you. I'd want the exact same thing if I was in your shoes. But surely there must be at least one girl that you'd like to ask out, Harry! Are you telling me that you never noticed how pretty the girls at Hogwarts are?'

Harry started feeling a little uncomfortable. He was never really one to enjoy talking about his feelings, and it was only because he knew Hermione wouldn’t tease him that he felt comfortable enough to tell her who was on his mind.

'Well, -' he said slowly, feeling his cheeks getting redder. 'I suppose I wouldn't mind asking Cho.'

Hermione smiled widely. 'See Harry, you didn't need my help figuring out that one, did you?' Hermione's smile got even wider. 'And Cho is a lovely girl, Harry. I'm sure she'd love to go to the ball with you.'

Harry slowly started to feel a little better about the whole prospect. 'Yeah, I suppose so.' he said. A small smile crept to his lips at the thought of asking Cho to the ball.

'Just don't leave it too late, Harry. It's best to ask her as soon as you can. You don't want to miss your chance!' warned Hermione.

'Yeah, you're right. Thanks Hermione! I feel a little better now, actually.' said Harry gratefully.

'Well, you're very welcome Harry' said Hermione, still smiling widely.

Harry suddenly realised something odd about Hermione's smile. Somehow, it was different. He was sure of it

'Erm … Hermione?' he asked tentatively.

'Yes, Harry?' she asked.

'Why does your smile look … different?'

'Oh!' Hermione's cheeks reddened slightly. 'Well, do you remember when Malfoy gave me those ugly fangs?'

'Yeah, of course,' said Harry, feeling puzzled.

'Well, when I went to Madam Pomfrey so she can shrink them again, I sort of let her carry on a little bit' she said a little hurriedly, blushing a little harder now. 'I never really liked them, and I've been begging my parents to let me shrink them with magic for ages.' She started talking a little faster now, the way she did when she was passionate about something. 'But they're muggles, and they don't think I should mix dentistry with magic even though it's such a harmless little thing, so I sort of took a little advantage of the position that I was in. That way, they can't technically be mad at me for shrinking them on purpose because the priority was to shrink them because of Malfoy's spell, and you know I don't take much stock in being so obsessed with one's appearance, but -'

'I think they look really good, Hermione' said Harry with a grin.

'Oh,' said Hermione, whose cheeks have cooled down but still remained a little pink. 'Well, thank you for saying that Harry. I really appreciate it. You're kind of the first person to notice, actually.'

'Well, you're welcome' said Harry. He glanced at his watch. 'You know, we have class soon. We probably should get going.'

*

For the rest of the day, Harry dwelled on what Hermione told him about the Yule Ball and the possibility of asking Cho out. He was the Boy Who Lived after all and, like Hermione pointed out, his popularity has steadily improved ever since he successfully managed to complete the first task. He hoped that Cho would not agree to go to the ball with him just because of that, however. Still, Harry did not yet know how to best ask her to the ball. He wanted to impress Cho and not make a fool of himself when he does. He wished he had an older brother who could give him advice about this stuff without him feeling like an idiot.

It was about halfway through a rather mundane History of Magic lesson when Harry had an idea. Why not ask Sirius for some advice? While it was Hermione who had encouraged him to ask out Cho, Harry felt that stuff like this needed to come from a male's perspective as well. Just before dinner, Harry made his way to the Owlery with a hurriedly written note clutched in his fist. In it, Harry had written:

_Dear Sirius,_

_The Yule Ball is coming up and I would really like some pointers on how to ask a girl out. I've never done anything like this before so I don't really know what to do!_

_Yours, Harry_

Despite Sirius's insistence of changing owls, he decided to attempt to appease Hedwig by using her instead of one of the school owls. Harry watched her taking flight with his note attached to her leg, wondering how quickly his godfather will get back to him. He didn't have to wait very long, however, as Sirius' reply was delivered the following morning just before breakfast ended. Deciding to read it later, Harry stuffed it into his pocket and waited until he was well-shot of anyone before opening it.

_Dear Harry,_

_There's no need to feel afraid. Girls don't bite (unless she happens to be a vampire). The best advice I can give you is to be polite, confident and to know when to take a no for an answer. Just ask the girl in question if you can have a word with her, look her in the eye and ask her._

_On another note, how are you getting on with that egg? Have you solved the clue yet? Let me know when you do! And remember to keep changing owls!_

_Sirius_

_P. S. Not that it's any of my business, but why not ask Hermione to be your date? She seems like a lovely girl and you two are quite close. I doubt she'd say no to you!_

Harry's heart skipped a beat when he read this last line. Cho was one thing, but Hermione? Where did Sirius get the idea that Hermione wouldn't mind it if Harry asked her to the Yule Ball?

Slowly, he read Sirius’s letter again and kept staring at it, as if the answer could somehow just leap off the parchment. Sure, he had told Sirius about both Hermione and Ron in the letters that he had sent him when he was at the Dursleys over the summer, but Harry didn't think this constituted as enough proof for Sirius to make such a claim. The only other time that Sirius had interacted Hermione after their initial meeting in Shrieking Shack was the brief moment where he and Hermione had rescued Sirius and sent him off on Buckbeak the hippogriff.

Slowly, he started to recall other times Hermione had helped him out of other tight spots. Like during his first year, when she had rescued both him and Ron from the Devil's Snare and solved that potions puzzle that led him to the Philosopher's Stone. Or when she figured out that the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was a basilisk. Or when, up until a few weeks ago, she was practically his only friend and supporter in the entire castle.

Harry sighed as he felt a twinge of guilt growing in the pit of his stomach as he took into account the number of other times over the years that he had taken her help and support for granted. He still felt bad about how he had reacted when Sirius had sent him the Firebolt as a Christmas present last year, and Hermione had the good sense to tell Professor McGonagall so that it could be searched for jinxes. Feeling rather cross with himself that he couldn't even remember if he had ever properly apologised for his behaviour or if he ever bothered to thank her for looking out for him, he made a promise to himself to make up for it all. It was peculiar, but it was as if Sirius's letter had made him suddenly appreciate everything wonderful about Hermione that he was always aware of but never really seemed to take enough notice of.

Footsteps wrenched Harry out of his thoughts. As he turned around, his eyes landed on Hermione. The great rush of affection that had been feeling towards her suddenly vanished, only to be replaced by what seemed to be a rather odd feeling of embarrassment. He was struck at how much Hermione has physically changed ever since she was a first year. Had she always been this pretty? How had he never noticed? Harry suddenly felt very shy; enough that he could barely bring himself to look her in the eye. At that very moment, Hermione Granger was the last person that he wanted to talk to.

'There you are, Harry! Where have you been?' she asked him. 'I've been looking for you for ages! I wanted to see if you wanted to get some time in with that egg. I thought maybe we could have a look at it and try to decipher that it means. I mean, it can't be too hard to figure out but I don't want you putting it off until the last minute like with the first task. We have some time now seeing as the Christmas holidays are coming up. I thought we could maybe go to the library after dinner and just try and see what kind of noise that egg is making when you open it. You saw how dangerous the first task was but you just need to be prepared and - Harry, are you even listening to me?'

This last question jerked Harry's head out of the clouds and back to reality. He felt silly for feeling so weird around Hermione. Why should he let a silly suggestion that Sirius made get to him so much that he'd feel uncomfortable even looking at this best friend?

'Harry, are you ok?' Her brown eyes looked at Harry with sudden concern. 'It's not Cho, is it? she asked gently. ‘Did you - I mean, have you gotten round to asking her to the Yule Ball yet?'

Suddenly, Harry was feeling very uncomfortable again. Why did she have to mention the Yule Ball now?

'Oh, no I - um - I haven't asked her yet,' he mumbled.

'Well, what are you waiting for, Harry?’ she asked. ‘I told you yesterday, you don't want to miss your chance!'

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Why would Hermione be so supportive with him asking out Cho? Surely if she didn't want her to go with him, she would have said so. So why would Sirius suggest that he ask her out? Did she not like him back? Did she not think he was attractive? Harry realised he had never heard Hermione even mention what kind of guy she finds attractive. Is it possible that she might think that he's attractive then?

This jumble of thoughts was only making Harry feel more flummoxed than before. He had never thought of Hermione in this manner before and, for the first time in his life, he really came to terms with just how attractive she is. Unbeknownst to him, his thoughts were making him blush slightly, something Hermione could not help fail to notice.

'Harry, are you sure you're alright? You look positively feverish! Is the thought of asking Cho to the Yule Ball making you nervous? I can give you some pointers if you -'

'Youwannagototheballwithme?' said Harry without thinking. His heart started pounding hard after realising what he said, and he started feeling his cheeks get even hotter.

Hermione stared at him, as if he had suddenly sprouted a brand new head.

'Excuse me?' she said, with a hint of visible confusion in her voice.

'Um…would you like to go to the ball with…me?' said Harry almost hoarsely. He had remembered Sirius's advice and was forcing himself to look into Hermione's brown eyes. He never realised just how lovely they were. His blush deepened.

A few seconds passed yet Hermione remained silent. Harry was starting to feel uneasy. He felt incredibly stupid. _This was a bad idea,_ he thought to himself. _How could I put her on the spot like this? What a stupid, blundering move._ Harry's thoughts became angrier. _Of course she wouldn't want to go with me. Just because Sirius suggested it, it didn't mean that I had to do it. Will she even want to be friends with me after this? Why couldn't I just keep my stupid effing mouth -_

'Well, I … um … well … um … really?' said Hermione, finally speaking up. Her face had turned into a very attractive shade of pink, Harry noted.

Feeling both embarrassed and tongue-tied, Harry could only bring herself to nod. His angry thoughts had dissolved almost immediately.

Her face now burning scarlet, Hermione tore her eyes away from Harry's and looked down. Nervously, Harry waited for her to speak.

'But yesterday … you wanted to ask Cho. Don't you still want to ask her?' she said quietly. Her head was bent so low that she gave Harry the impression that she was taking a great deal of interest in his shoes, yet her eyes flicked briefly upwards as she waited for him to reply.

Harry shook his head, still terrified at the prospect at the thought of having to speak.

'So instead,' Hermione continued slowly, as if she's trying to translate a complex Rune inscription, 'you'd rather go with me instead?' Her head was no longer lowered, and she was now looking at Harry again, an unreadable expression playing on her features.

Harry froze for a brief moment. Did he really mean to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball? It had slipped out of him so suddenly that he didn't even have time to process it. And yet, at that moment, he wished for nothing more than for her to say yes. He cursed himself internally for not realising how daft he'd been at never figuring out how much he really liked Hermione. Yet it seemed almost ridiculous to him how she had done so much for him to help him with schoolwork and their adventures and everything else that they had faced together, but this one moment felt like it might make or break their entire friendship.

Noticing how Hermione was still waiting for a reply, Harry nodded. His nerves were tearing themselves to pieces.

Suddenly, a ghost of a smile started to form on Hermione's lips. Harry's stomach seemed to somehow even tighten itself into more of a knot.

'Well … I mean, I never thought … I mean, do you fancy me, Harry?' asked Hermione tentatively. 'Or are you just looking to take a friend with you instead? Because I am flattered Harry, really I am!' she added quickly. 'It's not that I don't mind going with you as friends. I'm just trying to understand what changed between yesterday and now that made you suddenly ask me to the ball!'

Harry slowly started to find his voice.

'It's just that…' he began slowly. 'Last night, I sent Sirius a letter asking him for some advice about this stuff and he wrote back and he just suggested I ask you 'cos he's got quite a good opinion of you and … well, I wasn't planning to say or do anything yet because I barely got a chance to think about what he told me before you found me and then it just sort of … slipped out,' he finished lamely. Realising he probably shouldn't end on such an awkward note, Harry continued, 'I mean, I do like you Hermione. You're my best friend and I care a lot about you. I guess the way Sirius put things made me realise that maybe I care a bit more about you in a way that I never really thought about before today, and I don't really know much else about them but I don't think I would mind finding out if that's ok with you.' Before his nerve ran out, he hurriedly added 'And … um… I think you're really pretty too.'

 _If my face gets any hotter, I'd be able to fry an egg on it,_ thought Harry as he felt the heat emancipating from his collar. However, he felt a little bit pleased with himself seeing that he not only managed to get all that he wanted to say out in the open but also made Hermione blush harder than he had ever seen her do so.

Hermione started to smile.

'Well, Harry I would love to go to the ball with you.' she said earnestly.

Harry's heart made a huge leap.

'Really?' he croaked out.

'Yes!' said Hermione with a huge smile on her face. 'I'm glad you were able to find the words to convey your feelings for me. No matter how unrehearsed it was.'

‘Oh. Um, great,’ he said, a smile threatening to split his face.

'However, can you do me a favour and maybe not tell anyone for now?' she said. Noticing Harry's look of alarm, she added, 'I just mean that I don't want to upset or annoy anyone because half the castle thinks we are dating anyway and I don't want to add fuel to the fire knowing how uncomfortable the rumour mill here at Hogwarts makes you feel. Besides,' she added impishly, 'I'm sure everyone will be curious as to who the Boy Who Lived is taking!' She then gave him a wink.

Harry thought for a brief moment and nodded. What Hermione said made a lot of sense, after all.

Hermione's smile widened.

'Great! Thank you for asking me Harry, really. You've quite possibly made my day!' She paused to look at her watch. 'Anyway, I'm going to be late for my next lesson so … see you later, I suppose?' she asked, looking at him hopefully.

Harry nodded and said, 'You know, if you want to work on the egg tonight, I'd love to get your thoughts on it.'

'Absolutely, Harry! Well, see you later!' She started to leave before pausing to turn to look at him. As her eyes met his, Harry could not help marvelling just how beautiful Hermione's eyes are. He looked at her with mild confusion, unsure as to why she hadn't left yet. Surely she wasn't about to change her mind?

Slowly, Hermione leaned forward and gave Harry a kiss on the cheek. Her lips brushed gently against Harry's smooth skin, and the contact felt like a warm, comforting ball of flame was just placed against it. He briefly closed his eyes and savoured the moment.

'For what it's worth,' said Hermione softly. 'I think you're very attractive as well!' She gave him another wink, turned around and headed towards her next class without looking back. Harry guiltily realised that he seemed to be a little too focused on Hermione's dissolving figure. Averting his gaze, he made a mental note to send an owl to Sirius in order to thank him for his advice. Feeling like he had just faced another Hungarian Horntail, he started to make his way to class before a sudden thought struck him. How on earth is Ron going to react when he tells him that he will be taking Hermione to the Yule Ball?


	2. Ron’s Reaction

The next few days were some of the most complicated for Harry. As usual, Hermione was right. Ever since he had asked her to the Yule Ball, a few girls did indeed approach him in the hopes that he'll take them to the Yule Ball. Harry tried to turn down these hopefuls as politely as he could whilst being careful to not let slip that he had a date already. He had hoped to at least tell Ron first before the entire school found out that Harry Potter already had a date to the Yule Ball.

He had originally thought about telling him the very day he had asked Hermione to go with him (after first making sure if Ron could be an exception to her favour, which she immediately agreed to). He had to put this on hold though, as Ron had picked that day to ask out Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball. Harry did not witness the scene personally, but he had it on good authority that Ron managed to horribly embarrass himself in front of half the school. In between Ginny's good-natured laughs at a very mortified Ron's expense, Harry explained that Fleur was part Veela and that her spillover magic is probably why Ron had felt such a strong urge to scream an invite to the Yule Ball at her.

Unfortunately for Harry, this incident made Ron act very sullen and refused to have any say in the subject matter altogether. Occasionally, Harry would try to casually bring up the Yule Ball over the next few days, but he was almost always met with grunts or sniffs in reply. He finally decided to take his time until Ron's demeanour was altogether less mopey before telling him whom he was taking to the Yule Ball, despite the fact that Ron's surliness seemed to be never-ending.

Instead, Harry turned his attention towards the egg in the hopes of taking his mind off things. With Hermione's encouragement, he tried to channel all of his focus into making sense of the atrocious wailing noise that it constantly emitted. Numerous listens later, Harry was nowhere closer to guessing what he will be facing in the Second Task; not that he was putting much effort into finding out what the noise is supposed to be. Truthfully, he didn't really care about the egg as he was only using it as an excuse to just be around Hermione. Throughout these sessions, he'd often find himself unintentionally watching her and, to his surprise, wondering what it would be like to nuzzle in her bushy brown hair. More than once, Hermione would catch him and blush slightly while giving him a shy look in return that makes his insides turn into mush. The two of them had silently seemed to agree to act as if nothing is happening between them, although Hermione did seem to be a little less bossy around him. This suited Harry just fine, as it helped him feel more relaxed around her, but he still couldn't help feeling nervous at the thought of dancing with his best friend. Sirius's letter didn't give him advice on dancing and the thought of asking him or Hermione for help made him cringe in embarrassment. It certainly did not help that at night, alone in his four-poster bed, he'd find his thoughts drifting towards Hermione. Before he'd fall asleep, he would unconsciously touch the spot where she had kissed him and feel his stomach tying itself into a knot; one which only got tighter when he reminded himself that Ron still didn't know that Harry was taking Hermione to the Yule Ball.

As the event drew nearer, Harry hastily put together a plan in an effort to try and put Ron in a good enough mood to talk about the Yule Ball. One afternoon, he made up an excuse about feeling rather peckish and asked Ron if he wanted to sneak down to the kitchens for some food. Never one to turn down good food, Ron agreed immediately. After feasting on some delicious roast chicken legs and a few mince pies, both Harry and Ron felt remarkably full. When they made their way back to the Common Room (Fairy Lights), they found it unusually empty. At Ron's suggestion, they started playing some wizard's chess. Harry was never particularly good at chess, and this was quite advantageous to him since he wanted to get Ron in a good enough mood so that he can finally be open to talking about the Yule Ball. Finally, after a couple of entertaining matches (Harry lost both times), he cleared his throat and attempted to casually strike up a conversation.

'Ron,' said Harry in what he hoped was a casual tone. 'Have you thought about trying to ask anyone else to the Yule Ball?'

'Don't be stupid, Harry,' groaned Ron. Harry was surprised to hear him actually speak for a change, instead of being on the receiving end of Ron's grunts and sniffs. 'Like I'd dare ask anyone else to the ball after that bloody fiasco. It was the worst thing that's ever happened to me! Like anyone would say yes to me after that!'

'Well, you don't know that!' said Harry in an attempt to console his best friend. 'Why don't you ask someone like Parvati or Lavender? I'm sure they wouldn't mind going with you!'

'Oh, come on Harry!' whined Ron. 'Like those two don't have partners already! They're some of the best good-looking girls in our year! And what about you?' he added. 'You're one to talk! You're supposed to open the bloody thing, aren't you? Where's your partner? I haven't seen you ask anybody to the ball yet!'

Harry took a deep breath. This was the perfect moment to come clean and finally tell Ron everything. Yet before he could open his mouth, Ron started talking again.

'Still, I suppose I better get a grip, haven't I?' sighed Ron. 'I know I haven't been good company lately, especially after what happened with that whole Goblet thing earlier this term. I'm sorry, Harry. I just … I don't really know how to recover from that whole Fleur thing. Maybe I should just ask Hermione. She probably doesn't have a partner yet. I mean, it's got to be worse for her as a girl if she goes on her own, right? What do you think, Harry?'

Harry's heart sank. How on earth was he supposed to tell him now?

'Well,' said Harry very slowly. 'It's not a bad idea at all but -'

'Great!' said Ron with more enthusiasm than Harry has seen in days. 'You know what, I think I'll just go to the library and ask her now!' he continued earnestly. 'It'll only take me a few minutes. Keep my seat warm, yeah?'

'Um …' was all Harry could say before he heard the portrait door swing open and, to his horror, saw Hermione walk into the Common Room.

'Wow, good timing,' marvelled Ron. Before Harry could stop him, Ron called out to Hermione, who was looking surprised at how enthusiastic Ron was acting.

'Well, you're certainly acting better Ron! What's brought this on?' said Hermione with mild amusement.

Harry wished that there was some way he could telepathically communicate with Ron in order to stop the impending embarrassment.

'Nothing, I just realised that I'm going to have a partner to the Yule Ball after all!' said Ron eagerly.

'Oh, really? Who are you planning to take then?' said Hermione with a smile.

'Well, you!' said Ron, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. 'I mean, neither of us have a date yet, so why don't we go together? Come on, we'll have a good laugh!'

Hermione's smile froze on her face. She turned to look at Harry, who was feeling like he had swallowed one of Fred and George's Ton-Tongue Toffees.

'And what makes you think that I haven't got date, Ron?' asked Hermione slowly.

'Well,' said Ron, too oblivious to realise what was happening. 'I was talking with Harry and -'

'Oh, you were talking with Harry, were you?' said Hermione coldly.

'Yeah, and he was talking about how I should get over myself and just ask someone to the ball and I haven't heard you say that you're going with anyone so I was thinking maybe you and I can go together! I mean, come on Hermione,' said Ron in attempt to convince her 'It'll be more embarrassing for you if you show up alone!'

Harry groaned inwardly. He figured now was probably as good a time as any to finally tell Ron what he'd wanted to tell him. But before he could open his mouth to do so, Hermione beat him to it.

'And did Harry just happen to not mention that I already have a date to the ball?' she said while gritting her teeth.

'Well, no he - wait, WHAT?' exclaimed Ron. 'You have a date to the ball? Come on, you don't have to lie to me, Hermione. Harry didn't say anything about you having a date!'

'And I'm telling you that I already have one!' said Hermione furiously.

'Who are you going with then?' said Ron indignantly.

'She's going with me, Ron!' blurted out Harry. He jumped up to his feet and looked at his best friend, who seemed to have frozen in response to Harry's sudden outburst. 'I asked her to the Yule Ball a couple of weeks ago and she said yes. I've been trying to find a good time to tell you, but you were so miserable after that whole thing with Fleur that I just didn't have the heart to tell you! I was hoping to tell you now but then you got excited at the idea of maybe having a date and then Hermione just happened to walk in and -'

'Oh, so it's my fault, is it Harry?' said Hermione snidely.

'No, of course not Hermione! I'm just trying to explain why I took so long to tell Ron about -'

'So you two are going to Yule Ball together?' said Ron quietly.

There was a deadly silence. Despite the roaring fire, the Common Room suddenly felt quite cold.

'You know, I think I'm going out for a walk,' said Ron numbly. He shuffled his way out of the Common Room and left Harry and Hermione alone. Harry felt Hermione's eyes on him. As he turned to look at her, she gave him a rather ugly look.

'What was all that about?' she demanded.

'I'm sorry, Hermione,' said Harry. He was starting to feel very anxious. 'I was just trying to get Ron in a good enough mood to talk about the Yule Ball but he couldn't let me get a word in edgewise. I was about to try and stop him from going to look for you but then you walked in and … well, you know the rest,' he said with a sigh.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but she instead closed it and remained silent. Harry's nerves were even worse than when he had asked her to go with him to the Yule Ball.

'I thought you were happy that you were taking me!' she suddenly said quietly.

'Of course I'm happy that I'm taking you to the Yule Ball, Hermione!' he said alarmedly.

'Well … why didn't you just tell Ron that we were going together then? Why did you have to make it so complicated?' She looked like she was about to burst into tears. Harry was starting to feel angry at himself. He hated the way how Hermione's brown eyes refused to meet his. _I don't deserve her,_ he thought to himself. _I'm such an idiot._

'Hermione, listen to me,' Harry began. 'I like you. I'm serious, I really do. I'm just a prat -'

'Yeah, you are,' said Hermione with a sigh.

'I know I am,' said Harry earnestly. He wasn't entirely sure if it was a trick of the light, but he thought he saw just the barest hint of a smile on Hermione's face. 'I'm sorry for putting you through this. This is all just a stupid misunderstanding. I didn't really plan well ahead. Come on, you know how useless I am at this stuff. I was only trying to make Ron feel better about himself! I didn't mean to upset you in the process, I swear!'

Hermione looked at him as if she were pitying him. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around him and gave him a hug. Harry's spirits lifted immediately as he returned her hug with enormous relief.

'I really am sorry, Hermione.' he said quietly.

'I know you are,' she said. She slowly let go of Harry. 'Go after Ron. I think you have some more explaining to do.' She gave him a small smile. 'I'll be fine, don't worry,'.

'Are you sure? asked Harry. 'I mean -'

'Harry, you two spent weeks not talking to each other!' said Hermione. 'Trust me, go after him and explain what's going on!'

A wild idea suddenly occurred to Harry. Summoning up the remainder of his courage, he leaned forward and gave Hermione a quick kiss on the cheek. Harry thought he heard a small intake of air; as he leaned back, he was almost positive that Hermione's cheeks were now a light shade of pink.

'You're right. I don't want him to stop talking to me again. I'll see you soon, ok?' said Harry quickly. Hermione nodded and he turned around and ran out of the portrait hole in search of Ron. He didn't stop to look back at her. If he did, he would have seen her smiling to herself as she touched the spot where he kissed her. Instead, Harry tried to think of places where Ron could have gone. He was so lost in thought that he almost ran into Nearly Headless Nick, who was quite affronted with Harry's lame apology. Nevertheless, he grudgingly told Harry that he had seen Ron making his way to the Entrance Hall. Breaking into a run, Harry finally managed to spot Ron sitting all alone at the bottom of the stairs. His footsteps caused Ron to look up.

'Listen,' panted Harry 'I'm sorry about what happened back there. I swear I was going to tell you everything, but you were so torn up about the whole Fleur thing that I ...'

'Are you two dating?' asked Ron quietly.

'What? No, of course not –' said Harry confusedly.

'Well, why did you ask her then? Do you fancy her or something?'

Harry stared at him. He had a nagging feeling that Ron was hiding something. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

'You like her as well, don't you?' exclaimed Harry.

Ron stiffened. 'No, I -'

'Then why are you reacting like this?' demanded Harry.

'Look, I'm sorry if I don't want to see my two best friends snog each other, alright?' snapped Ron. 'You two were probably having a right laugh at me behind my back, weren't you?'

'Don't be ridiculous Ron. I only asked her because I sent a letter to Sirius and –'

'What the hell does Sirius have to do with any of this?' asked Ron incredulously.

'I'll explain if you'll just let me finish!' said Harry. Ron didn't say anything but gestured with his head in order to let Harry tell his story. 'I sent Sirius a letter asking him for some advice about asking out a girl to this stupid ball and he suggested I ask Hermione. And ... I dunno, I guess I've liked her for a while without realising it and she happened to come and talk to me and I just sort of blurted it out.'

Ron looked at Harry. 'And that's when she said yes, huh?'

Harry nodded.

Ron sighed. 'It's just ...' He struggled to form his next sentence. 'You don't see us when you're not around. Like this summer at The Burrow. She was there a couple of days before you, remember? We hung out a lot and she always laughed at my jokes. I didn't really notice it at that time, but I guess a part of me thought that maybe she liked me. I know we bicker a lot but I do like having her around. She's great, you know?'

'Yeah, she is,' said Harry quietly.

'Look ... it doesn't matter,' said Ron. 'You asked her, and she said yes. At least you'll have someone you like as a date. That's what you wanted, right?'

'Yeah, but what about you? Don't you want to ask anyone?' asked Harry.

'Honestly, I don't care. I think I'll just stay in the Common Room or something,' said Ron glumly.

'Come on, Ron. I'm sure there's someone who will go with you!' insisted Harry.

'Seriously Harry, I really don't want to go. My dress robes are horrible anyway. I wasn't really looking forward to wearing them. And I'm rubbish at dancing.'

'Ron -'

'Harry, I said it's fine! Look ... let's go and get some dinner, yeah? It's almost time,' said Ron, hurriedly changing the subject.

Harry sighed. 'Fine. Let's go eat then.'

As they both made their way to the Great Hall, he couldn't help feeling that Ron wasn't being completely honest with him. Yet there was no chance of them continuing their earlier conversation since, in an effort to seemingly distract himself, Ron piled his plate high with food and was busy stuffing his face. Hermione eventually came and joined them, and Harry was disappointed to see that Ron was being rather quiet around her as well. Harry looked at the mountainous helpings that Ron was busy devouring and sighed quietly. Despite their little excursion earlier in the kitchens, Harry still found himself feeling hungry, but his stomach seemed to have closed. Suddenly, he felt a small prickling of anger.

 _It's not my fault that I asked Hermione before he did,_ he thought. _Besides, she said yes to me. It was entirely HER choice to make!_

Harry gritted his teeth and tried to force himself to calm down. He reminded himself that Ron was only acting this way because he had unintentionally hurt him and that the real reason that he was feeling angry was that he had desperately hoped that this situation won't cause Ron to fight with him again. Wishing he'd rather be anywhere else, he glanced at Hermione. She was sitting with one elbow on the table and with her hand on her face while playing with her food. As he kept gazing at her, he realised that she seemed to be absentmindedly stroking her cheek. With a sudden jolt, he realised that it was the spot where he had kissed her a little while ago. His thoughts drifted back to that moment with Hermione, and how she had reacted when he had kissed her on the cheek. All of a sudden, he wondered what it would be like to kiss her on the lips and how she would react to such an act.

As if she could hear his thoughts, Hermione suddenly looked at him, flushed slightly and straightened herself before seemingly forcing herself to concentrate on her dinner. This amusing reaction made Harry feel decidedly calmer as he slowly put some food on his plate and, with a smile to himself, began to eat.


	3. The Yule Ball

If an unsuspecting onlooker happened to pay attention to Ron during the few days leading up to Christmas, it would be easy to assume that he seemed to be making quite an exuberant effort to get into the spirit of things. Yet only Harry knew that Ron's lively facade was nothing more than a front for his misery. Every time that Harry noticed this, he felt guilty knowing that the reason that Ron was so upset was that he wasn't going to be the one who will be taking Hermione to the Yule Ball. Harry wished more than once that the Yule Ball will just finally come and pass already.

At long last, Christmas Day finally arrived. After waking up his whole dormitory with a surprised yelp due to Dobby's unexpected appearance (who gave him a rather interesting pair of mismatched socks that he had knitted himself in exchange for Ron's new Weasley jumper and a couple of pairs of their socks), he finally sat up so he can open up his presents.

'Cheers Harry!' said Ron gratefully. Harry turned around to see Ron wearing the Chudley Cannons hat that he bought him. Its vibrant orange hue contrasted quite horrendously with his red hair.

'No problem,' grinned Harry. Deciding to open Ron's first, he unwrapped what turned out to be a bulging bag of Dungbombs. Rolling his eyes in amusement, he dug through all the rest of the presents that he received from Hagrid (a large box of all his favourite wizarding sweets), Sirius (a penknife that can unlock all locks and untie all knots) and Mrs. Weasley (a generous number of homemade mince pies and a green Weasley jumper adorned with a dragon). Snorting derisively at the Dursley's present, which consisted of a single tissue, he finally unwrapped Hermione's gift; a book called _Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland_. Smiling widely at how thoughtful her gift was, Harry cracked open the first page and began to read. He was soon interrupted by Ron, who demanded that Harry get up so that they can make their way downstairs for breakfast. Hermione sat waiting for them as they made their way to the Common Room. Harry thanked her profusely for her gift, which earned him a very wide smile in return.

The rest of the morning was quite peaceful. After breakfast, the three of them decided to laze about in the Gryffindor Tower before heading down to an awe-inspiring Christmas lunch; complete with about a hundred roast turkeys and Christmas puddings with piles upon piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers just waiting to be opened. Later on, Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys' decided to head to the grounds wherein a rather enthusiastic snowball fight took place between Harry and the Weasleys'. Hermione elected to watch them rather than join in, and at five o'clock announced that she was going to head back to the castle to start getting ready. Just before she turned around to leave, she gave Harry a small wave; which was the perfect moment for George Weasley to use this little distraction to hit Harry rather hard on the side of the head with a snowball.

It was another two hours before they all made their way back to Gryffindor Tower to finally get changed. Harry, Dean, Seamus and Neville all changed into their dress robes whilst Ron sat lazily on his bed. Seamus and Dean were looking very smug since they kept subtly reminding everyone that they had somehow managed to land Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil as dates, whom many considered to be two of the most attractive girls in their year. Neville, on the other hand, was going with Ginny. Harry noticed that he was shying away from Ron; seemingly in the hopes that he won't get an earful for asking out his friend's sister. They had all given up asking Harry who he was taking since Harry made it clear he wasn't telling. Instead, Harry focused on trying to persuade Ron to come with them to the Yule Ball.

'It's fine, Harry!' said Ron nonchalantly after he asked him to reconsider for the umpteenth time. 'I'd rather stay here and get some quiet time. Besides, you've seen all my dress robes. They're an embarrassment!'

With a sigh, Harry turned to his mirror and tried desperately to try and tame his unruly hair with a comb but realised very quickly that he had almost no hope. Still, he kept at it until he somehow managed to get it looking half-decent. Realising that he was the only one left in the dormitory apart from Ron, he straightened up and was about to make his way to the door before Ron cleared his throat indicatively. Puzzled, Harry turned to face him.

'Erm ...' said Ron. 'Well, I ... I hope you have fun tonight, mate.'

Harry slowly nodded. 'I still wish you were coming, you know.'

Ron grimaced. 'Maybe ... maybe next time, yeah? I'm not in the mood tonight.'

'Are you sure, Ron?' asked Harry gently.

'Yeah, I'm sure,' said Ron quietly. He looked at his watch. 'You'd better go. Hermione's probably already waiting for you.' Harry couldn't help detecting a note of sadness in his voice.

'Yeah, you're right. Anyway ... see you later?'

'Yeah. See you later, Harry,' said Ron gloomily.

Harry dejectedly made his way to the common room. It was already empty. He figured that everyone must have already made their way to the Entrance Hall. Nervously, he started to make his own way there. He could hear the loud murmurs from the crowd of students as he got nearer. He suddenly remembered that he never really asked Hermione where he was supposed to meet her. He shrugged this thought off, knowing he'd recognise her mane of bushy hair anywhere. As he stood waiting, he observed all the other students waiting for the doors of the Great Hall to open. He nodded to Fred when he passed by with Angelina Johnson, who gave him a big wink in return. Not long after, he saw Malfoy looking very smug while holding hands with Pansy Parkinson, whilst Crabbe and Goyle stood partnerless behind them. He made a mental note to tell Ron that, hoping he'll get a laugh out of it. As Harry looked around some more, he noticed that quite a few girls were pointing and giggling at him. Feeling self-conscious, he was very glad Roger Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, happened to block his view as he passed by while accompanying none other than Fleur Delacour. Chuckling at the memory of Ron's meltdown, he continued to try and scan the crowd for Hermione. Instead, his eyes fell to Professor McGonagall, who was making her way towards him.

'Potter,' she said as she sidestepped a few students. 'All the champions are to go in last, so wait by the side until I tell you to follow me. And where's your partner? For heaven's sake, don't tell me that you don't have one!'

'No, I do have one Professor!' said Harry quickly.

'Well, where is she then?' she demanded.

'I –'

'THERE you are Harry!' said a rather familiar voice. 'I've been looking everywhere for you!'

Harry turned around. A very pretty girl with straight and glossy hair was standing next to him, wearing periwinkle-blue dress robes that seemed to have been woven out of some sort of floaty material. It took everything he had to not let his jaw drop to the floor when he realised a split-second later that the girl was none other than Hermione.

'Ah, Miss Granger,' Professor McGonagall's voice seemed to jerk him out of his trance. 'Well, like I told Mr. Potter, you are to wait by the side until everyone else goes in. All of you will then pair up and follow me inside. Is that clear?'

'Yes, Professor McGonagall.' said Hermione brightly. Harry, who was still too stunned to speak, somehow managed to nod his head.

'Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to find Mr. Diggory.' As she left, Harry couldn't help but marvel at how stunning Hermione was looking.

'Are you ok, Harry?' asked Hermione.

'Um ... yeah, um ... you look great, Hermione,' croaked Harry.

Hermione beamed at him. 'Thank you so much Harry! You look really nice too. Your dress robes really do bring out the colour of your eyes!'

Harry felt his face flush. 'Oh, erm ... thanks,' he mumbled. 'Um ... how did you ...' He gestured lamely at her hair, which was somehow twisted up into a very elegant knot at the back of her head.

'Oh, my hair?' giggled Hermione. It occurred to him that he had probably never heard her giggle before. 'Actually, I have your grandfather to thank, Harry!'

'Excuse me?' he said confusedly. She giggled again.

'I used a hair care potion called Sleekeazy's. Apparently, your grandfather invented it. His name was Fleamont Potter. I thought ... well, given the occasion and the circumstances it seemed appropriate in a way. You know what I mean?' Her face turned a little pink.

 _No wonder I didn't recognise her,_ Harry thought. But it wasn't just the hair and the dress that made Hermione look so different. It was the way she was elegantly holding herself without having to lug a heavy bag of twenty books or so around all day. Harry felt like a gormless troll when compared to her.

'Um ... yeah, I get it,' said Harry with what he hoped was a smile. His body still didn't feel like it was functioning properly. 'It really suits you.' he continued. He cringed internally at how awkward he was acting around her. _Get a grip,_ he thought.

'Champions, over here!' called out Professor McGonagall.

'Come on Harry, let's go line up with the rest,' said Hermione briskly. She grasped Harry's hand and led him to the other champions. He hoped that his palm wasn't too sweaty.

As Professor McGonagall put them all in pairs, Harry had a look at the rest of the champions. Cedric was accompanied by Cho, while Krum was accompanied by one of his giggly fangirls. He shot Harry what thought to be a bit of a dirty look, as if Harry had somehow said something rude to him. Cho, on the other hand, gave him a small wave and openly complimented at how lovely Hermione was looking, which she returned enthusiastically.

When the doors of the Great Hall finally opened, the rest of the students started to all make their way inside. Harry was pleased to see how Pansy Parkinson openly gaped at her as she went by with Malfoy. He was starting to feel a little better about the whole affair now. He looked at Hermione and gave her a small smile, who instantly gave him one back. Finally, after everyone else settled down, Professor McGonagall led them in. Applause thundered all around them as they walked up to a rather large table at the top of the beautifully decorated Great Hall. Harry felt a little smug at Dean and Seamus's expressions, who seemed to have been struck dumb. After taking his time to admire the silver frost that was adorned all over the hall, he suddenly noticed that Percy Weasley was sitting at the table. Groaning inwardly, he reluctantly let Hermione make their way towards him. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Harry managed to somehow drown out Percy's voice as he went on about how he has been promoted to Mr. Crouch's personal assistant and how he was there to represent him since apparently Mr. Crouch was too unwell to attend. He rolled at his eyes at Hermione, who gave him a small smirk in return.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore had decided to start off the feast by picking up a small menu near his plate and very carefully speaking his desired food to his plate ('Pork Chops!'). Feeling suddenly hungry, Harry grabbed his and placed his order. He looked at Hermione, wondering if she will want to make a point about S.P.E.W. and how the house-elves must have worked much harder to be able to cope with such a more complex method of feasting. However, she grinned abashedly, as if she somehow managed to read his thoughts.

'Maybe not tonight, Harry,' she said. 'I still want to continue promoting how house-elves have been neglected, but ... well, I don't think anyone really cares tonight.'

'Yeah, I guess not,' said Harry with a smirk. As he started on his own food, he overheard Dumbledore telling everyone in earshot about a mysterious bathroom that he stumbled upon recently that was filled with chamber pots and how he apparently had no idea where it was. Chuckling to himself, he happened to glance at Krum, who was still seemingly glaring at Harry.

'Hey, have you noticed the way Krum is looking at me?' he whispered to Hermione.

'Yes, actually. And I think I might know why,' said Hermione quietly.

'Yeah? Tell me,' said Harry.

'Well ... promise not to be mad, ok?' said Hermione.

'Why would I be mad?' said Harry confusedly.

'He ... well, he asked me to the Yule Ball a day after you did. That's why he was hanging about the library all the time, apparently. He wanted to get to know me more,' said Hermione casually.

'Oh.' For some reason, Harry felt a little worried. 'And what did you tell him?'

'What did you think I told him? I just said I already had a date. I guess he's feeling a little jealous or something.' said Hermione nonchalantly.

'Wow, you really think so?' said Harry in surprise. He couldn't help feeling rather pleased with himself at the thought of making an international Quidditch player jealous of him.

'You don't have to be so smug about it, you know,' said Hermione pointedly. He didn't realise that his mouth was formed into a rather large smirk.

'Sorry, I couldn't help it,' admitted Harry.

Hermione rolled her eyes and resumed eating, albeit with a small smile.

Finally, after everyone had their fill of the feast, Dumbledore stood up and, with a few waves of his wand, transfigured the Great Hall, which was up to that point filled with other smaller tables for the students, into more of a dance floor. A platform with various musical instruments was also conjured up, with a band that Harry heard was called The Weird Sisters making their way towards it. He suddenly remembered that he was expected to open the dance. He looked nervously at Hermione, figuring he might as well come clean.

'Hermione ... um, I don't really –'

'I know, Harry,' she said quickly. 'Well, at least I assumed you didn't. Just follow my lead, ok?'

'Ok, great,' said Harry. Feeling decidedly less queasy, he somehow managed to lead Hermione to the dance floor without tripping on his dress robes. He looked expectantly at her as he waited for her to do something. Hermione rolled her eyes, and gently grasped Harry's hands. She put one around her waist whilst resting one of hers on his arm and left the other in her other hand. Harry grinned sheepishly at her and she gave him an encouraging smile in return.

The Weird Sisters, Harry thought, were a rather good band. Song after song, Harry slowly felt himself becoming more confident. Dancing, as it turned out, wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. At least he hadn't tripped on his dress robes yet. He looked at Hermione and couldn't help marvel at how beautiful she looked.

'What?' she said amusedly.

'Nothing,' said Harry with a smirk. 'You're quite good at this, you know.'

'You're not so bad yourself, you know,' she said with a wink.

The atmosphere was simply electric, and everyone was having a real good time. Harry rather enjoyed the faster songs. He felt he could loosen up more and be a little goofy. Hermione giggled at his more embarrassing dance moves, but she still eyed him with a certain reverence. He had never seen her look so happy and relaxed.

'Would you like something to drink?' panted Hermione as a rather particularly fast song ended.

Harry suddenly realised how hot he was feeling from all the dancing. 'Yeah, definitely,' he said. 'Want me to go get us a couple of Butterbeers?' She nodded gratefully. As Harry made his way to the drinks section and waited for his order, he couldn't help feeling drawn more and more towards her. He wondered if she was feeling the same as he did.

'Here you go,' he said loudly as he handed the cold bottle of Butterbeer to Hermione. The Weird Sisters had started to play another fast song.

'Thanks,' said Hermione gratefully as she took a swig. 'Want to sit down for a while? My feet are really tired.'

'Sure, whatever you want,' said Harry. They made their way to one of the remaining tables in the back and sat down. For a moment, neither one of them spoke. Instead, they watched the others dance.

'I'm really having a good time, Hermione,' said Harry quietly. She turned to look at him whilst grabbing his hand and squeezing it. Harry's stomach did a backflip in response.

'Me too,' she said softly. They kept looking at each other until Hermione said 'I'm actually getting a little tired though. What time is it?'

'It's almost midnight,' said a surprised Harry after looking at his watch. He felt a little disappointed that the night passed by so quickly. 'I guess we have time for one last dance, if you want.'

'I'd like that,' said Hermione.

They waited until the current song ended before getting up. Feeling a little buzz in his head from the Butterbeer, Harry led Hermione to the dance floor again. The Weird Sisters announced to the crowd to partner up as they will be playing one of their famous ballads to close out the ball. Without thinking, Harry put both his hands on Hermione's waist. Her face flushed a little, but nonetheless put her arms around his neck as they both began to gently sway to the sultry whispers of the lead singer.

_This one's going out to all the lovers out there._

_Hold each other tight, and keep each other warm._

He found himself gazing at Hermione. Her focus seemed steadfast on nothing else but him. _Like every time she ever helps me out with anything that I ask her to,_ thought Harry. He focused again on the lead singer's crooning.

_And dance your final dance_

_This is your final chance_

_To hold the one you love_

_You know you've waited long enough_

Harry couldn't help thinking how appropriate the words applied to their situation. He noticed how Hermione was biting her bottom lip in a manner that could very well be described as cute.

_So, believe_

_That magic works_

_Don't be afraid_

_Of bein' hurt_

He suddenly felt nervous. Was Hermione expecting him to kiss her? His throat suddenly seemed very dry.

_Don't let this magic die_

_The answer's there_

_Oh, just look in her eyes_

Unconsciously, Harry did indeed look in Hermione's brown eyes and felt himself being transfixed by them. Without realising what he was going to do, he lowered his head and pressed his lips gently on hers. A sudden warmth rushed over him, as if he had just sunk into a warm bath. He felt Hermione's lips stiffen in response for the briefest of moments before she slowly started kissing him back. Somehow, he managed to pull her closer and closer until she was fully wrapped in his embrace. It was the most wonderful feeling in the world. Better than riding a broomstick. Better even than beating the Horntail. Harry had often heard how kissing can be intense, but he never thought it would anything like this.

A loud applause interrupted them and both Harry and Hermione jumped apart as they looked around to see what was happening. Harry realised that the song had stopped playing, and that the applause was for the band. He also noticed that the other students were already slowly making their way out of the Great Hall. He looked at Hermione, who seemed equally dumbstruck. After somehow managing to both gather themselves, Harry and Hermione slowly started making their way to the Gryffindor Tower. Harry felt too embarrassed to look at Hermione and felt his stomach doing summersaults with each step that he climbed.

'Hey, Harry. HARRY!'

He whirled around with confusion and saw Cedric Diggory frantically trying to get his attention. When he finally caught his eye, Cedric gestured to him to go over and talk to him. He turned to Hermione, who gave him a quick nod and turned her attention to one of the portraits.

'Listen,' said Cedric as Harry arrived next to him. I owe you a big one for that dragon thing. 'Does your egg wail when you open it?'

Still feeling a little dumbstruck from his kiss with Hermione earlier, Harry nodded.

'Well,' said Cedric in a low voice. 'Take a bath with it, ok? It'll help you out a lot, trust me. Hell, use the Prefect's bathroom. You know the statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor? Well, the bathroom is behind the fourth door to the left of it. The password is Pine-fresh, ok?' He looked at him expectantly and Harry realised that he was waiting for him to say something.

'Yeah erm ... thanks, Cedric.' He tried to force the muscles in his face into what he hoped was a genuine smile. 'You really didn't have to.'

'Come on, don't be ridiculous! I wouldn't be standing here if it wasn't for that tip of yours. It's only fair I even things out with you. Anyway, I'm off to say goodnight to Cho. See you around, Harry!'

Harry slowly started to make his way upstairs again. He noticed that Hermione was still absentmindedly looking at the same portrait as before, yet its occupant was no longer in it. He coughed a little loudly and she jumped a mile in the air.

'Sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to startle you.'

'That's ok, Harry!' she said quickly with a flushed face. 'So, what did Cedric want?' she added with an unusually high-pitched voice.

'Oh, well he gave me this clue about the egg ... I guess we can work on it tomorrow?' asked Harry hopefully.

'Yes, of course!' she said with the same high-pitched voice. 'Um ... are you going up Harry?'

'Oh, yeah,' said Harry, who was still frozen on the spot. He somehow managed to make his way up the stairs with Hermione in tow. He didn't realise that the two of them were holding hands until they were facing the portrait of the Fat Lady. Her friend Violet was with her as well. They were both trying to keep each other awake after what Harry assumed was a long night of drinking. As they entered the empty Common Room, he swore he could hear them both fall into a rather heavy snooze.

Harry looked at Hermione, who seemed to be rather interested in the flickering flames of the fire.

'Erm, Hermione? Are you ok?' he asked timidly.

'Hmm?' she said? 'Oh, of course I am, Harry,' she replied hastily.

'Well ... erm, I had a rather lovely time tonight,' said Harry. He felt the heat radiating from his face as he tried to push the thought of _that_ moment out of his mind.

'Oh, well, me too! It was a really nice event,' said Hermione quickly as her face blushed scarlet.

Harry suddenly wished he hadn't kissed her. What on earth was he thinking? He was making things awkward; he just knew it. What if Hermione didn't want to be friends anymore? What would happen then?

'Are you ok, Harry? You look rather worried,' said Hermione in a very concerned tone. Harry didn't realise that he was frowning slightly.

'Oh, I'm ok,' he lied as he tried to push down the worries that he was feeling. 'Anyway ... um, goodnight.' He turned to make his way up to his dormitory.

'Harry,' said Hermione softly. 'I liked it a lot, you know. The kiss, I mean.'

Harry stopped dead. He slowly turned to look at her. Her eyes filled him with the same warmth as they did when he kissed her.

'I – erm, really?' he said.

'Yes, of course I did Harry,' she said with a smile. 'Although I didn't expect you to be so bold. Especially at such a public event. You ... well, you caught me by surprise.'

Harry's heart soared. _She liked the kiss,_ he thought. _I don't believe it. She really liked it._

He didn't notice as Hermione made his way towards him. He did, however, feel her grabbing his hand and giving it a soft squeeze. He looked into her eyes, and she looked back into his.

'Goodnight, Harry,' she said as she kissed him on the cheek; the same spot where she had kissed him the first time all those weeks ago. 'We'll talk more tomorrow, ok? We'll figure all this out.' She looked at him and, without warning, pressed her lips hesitantly on his. While not as mind-blowing as their first one, it still gave Harry a rather warm and fuzzy feeling.

'Goodnight Hermione,' he said with a rather big grin on his face. Giggling, she let go of his hand and made her way up to the girl's dormitory. Harry watched her go in before he made his own way up to his. It took everything he had not to giddily skip up the spiral staircase. He opened the door to his dormitory quietly and heard a chorus of loud snores great him. As he crept in, he noticed that Ron was still wide awake on his bed.

'Hey Ron,' said Harry cheerfully yet quietly. 'Everything ok?'

'Yeah,' he said with a rather too bright voice. 'Hey, I hope you don't mind but I borrowed your invisibility cloak for a little while. I got bored up here on my own, but I didn't really want to face anyone so ... well, I went for a walk.'

'Oh, that's fine Ron' said Harry dismissively. 'Where did you go? We would have been glad to see you!'

'Yeah, I know but ... well, I didn't want to come and ruin things. He sat up straighter as he looked at Harry with some concern. Listen, I didn't hear much but I wanted to tell you anyway; I saw Snape and Karkaroff talking about ... well, something. I couldn't really hear much. But Karkaroff was going on about something becoming more clearer ... not sure what though.'

'Oh,' said Harry with some concern. The thought of the Headmaster of Durmstrang having such a mysterious conversation with Snape troubled him, yet the thought of kissing Hermione pushed it out of his mind.

'And you're not gonna believe this,' added Ron. 'Hagrid is half-giant!'

'Really? How did you find out?' asked Harry perplexedly.

'Well, he was out there talking to that Madame Maxime about it. I guess he was trying to get her to admit she was one as well but she wasn't having any of it. I don't know who the hell she's kidding though. She's basically as tall as he is!'

'Well ... I mean, is it really such a big deal though?'

Ron looked down as he answered. 'Well ... giants are hated by wizards, mate. It's a whole thing. Most of them live in mountains now.'

'Yeah, but this is Hagrid we are talking about, Ron!'

'I know, I know,' said Ron hurriedly. 'How was the ball, anyway?' he asked, in an effort to change the subject.

'It was rather good, actually,' said Harry as he started to change into pyjamas.

'Yeah? Good, good' said Ron softly.

'Yeah. Crabbe and Goyle didn't have anyone with them, by the way,' said Harry as he put on his shirt.

'Not surprised. Who'd wanna go with those gits? Trolls, the pair of them,' Ron guffawed. 'I mean ... I could have gotten a date if I wanted to ...''

'I know, Ron,' said Harry hurriedly.

Ron fell silent for a while.

'Um ... actually, I lied a little. I did pop in just before the Yule Ball ended. I was hoping to come and talk to you guys, you know?'

'Oh, yeah?' said Harry distractedly. He was too busy getting comfortable in bed to realise what Ron was saying.

'Yeah ... I kind of watched you two dance for a while before ...'

Suddenly, Harry froze. He replayed what Ron said to him and instantly realised what Ron was trying to imply.

'Um ... Ron –'

'You have a little of her lipstick on you,' said Ron quietly.

'Oh.' Harry rubbed his mouth furiously.

'And on your face,' Ron added. He watched as Harry started rubbing his cheek as well. 'Um ... what's it like?'

'What do you mean?' asked Harry, still rubbing his face.

'You know ... snogging,' said Ron quietly. 'It was your first time, yeah?'

'Yeah ... I mean, it was great. She was great. I mean, it's Hermione. Of course, she'd be good at everything.'

'Yeah, I guess so,' said Ron numbly. 'So ... are you two dating now?'

'Um ... I don't really know,' said Harry uncomfortably. 'She said we're gonna talk about it tomorrow so ...'

'Oh, I see.' Said Ron. 'Look ... if you do actually end up dating her ... I mean, could you not ... you know ... do _that_ in front of me?'

'What, snog?' asked Harry.

'Yeah, that,' said Ron.

'Um ... I guess that shouldn't be much of a problem,' said Harry. 'Look, for all I know, she'll tell me we're better off as friends. I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing.'

'Nah, she won't. She really likes you, mate. You saw how much effort she put into her whole look. Hell, I barely recognised her, and I'm supposed to be best friends with her!'

'Yeah, she used some sort of hair care potion that my grandfather invented apparently.'

'What, Sleekeazy's? asked Ron with interest. Harry looked at him curiously. I heard my Mum mention it a couple of times,' he shrugged. 'Guess that's why you have that family fortune then, huh?' he added. Harry couldn't help noticing the slight bitterness in his voice.

'Ron ... no matter what happens, you'll still be my best mate. You know that, right?' said Harry pleadingly.

Ron looked at him and nodded. 'I know, mate. Um ... I'm gonna get some sleep, ok?' he said as he rolled over. 'Goodnight.'

'Yeah ... goodnight Ron,' said Harry. He closed his eyes and dreamt he was slow dancing with Hermione again while kissing her in front of the whole school.

The next day, Harry woke up rather later than usual and saw that Ron was already getting dressed.

'Morning mate,' said Ron. 'Um ... well, I know you said you and Hermione need to talk so ... I'll just go down for breakfast or something, ok?'

'Ron, you don't have to –'

'No, trust me. It's better this way,' Ron sighed. He looked at Harry seriously. 'Just promise me you'll take care of her, ok?'

'Ron –'

'I know, I know. Just ... promise?'

Harry sighed. 'I promise, ok? Now let me get up and change.'

Ron gave him a slight smile. 'Good luck,' he said as he left Harry completely alone in his dormitory.

Harry mulled over his thoughts. He recalled the previous night's events and couldn't help feeling a little elated at how happy Hermione had seemed last night. With a sudden burst of energy, he dressed and made his way down the spiral staircase. A lot of his housemates were lounging around the Common Room, too exhausted from last night's ball to be in the mood to do anything. He immediately spotted a head of familiar-looking bushy hair sticking out of the top of a book that she was reading at a table by the window. Ignoring the obvious stares and whispers, he made his way towards her.

'Good morning, Harry,' she said brightly as she lowered her book. 'Did you sleep well?'

'I did, yeah. You?' asked Harry as he sat down.

'Very well, thank you!' replied Hermione.

They stared at each other for what seemed a rather long time before Harry finally asked, 'Your hair's back to normal then?'

'Oh, yes. Well, Sleekeazy's only last for a handful of hours. Besides, I find it's too much trouble to use it every day,' said Hermione.

'Yeah ... well, it still looks nice,' said Harry earnestly.

Hermione smiled at him. 'Thank you, Harry.' She cleared her throat. 'So, I thought we could start by –'

'Um, Hermione?' said Harry timidly. 'I don't want to interrupt, but I think you'll want to hear this.' He quickly told her everything that Ron had overheard Snape and Karkaroff talk about.

Hermione frowned. 'It does sound a little strange, I suppose. But there's not much that we can go on since he didn't hear what Karkaroff was referring to.'

'Yeah, I guess,' said Harry. 'Oh, Ron also heard Hagrid tell Madame Maxime that he's a half-giant!'

'Really?' said Hermione with interest. 'I mean, I've always had a feeling he was. Most giants are typically something like twenty feet tall at the very least! Although I'm not surprised that he likes to keep it private. It's all this stupid prejudice that people have against anyone who is half-human.'

'Yeah, I guess so,' said Harry. He thought about all the times that the Dursleys made him out to be some sort of a freak just for being able to use magic and felt instantly sorry for Hagrid.

'Anyway, I really think we should talk about last night, Harry,' said Hermione, interrupting his thoughts.

'Oh, yeah,' said Harry as he felt his insides squirm.

Hermione looked at him with a small smile. 'Harry, I really had a lovely time last night. I mean, I never thought I wasn't going to, but ... well, you really made it special for me. Thank you.'

Harry felt a lump in his throat. 'You're welcome,' he croaked out.

'There's something else that I feel that you should know, though,' said Hermione softly. 'Um ... I don't know if you ever noticed but ... Ron kind of likes me.'

Harry's heart sank. Was she about to tell him that she'd prefer Ron than him? Was this Hermione's way of letting him down gently?

'Yeah, I sort of realised a couple of weeks ago,' he mumbled.

'Yes, well ... I mean, I'm not going to lie and say I've never thought what it would be like to go on a date with him but ... I mean, after last night, I'm not so sure anymore. It's mostly because I always felt that the relationship that you and I have is strictly platonic. But you crossed a line last night, Harry. I never thought in a million years you'd ever kiss me but I'm glad you did. It made everything a little easier to figure out.'

'What do you mean?' Harry asked nervously. Could she possibly be saying what he thought she was saying?

Hermione sighed. 'Honestly Harry, did you really think I never liked you?' Harry shook his head. 'Well, you're wrong. I mean, I've always been perfectly happy being friends with you. But ... well, remember when you were going to save the Stone in First Year and I told you how I admire the qualities that you have? I had a soft spot for you even back then! Not to mention that I do consider you to be quite good looking.' She took a deep breath. 'Look, I'm happy to just be friends with you and move on from you. But ... well, if you'd like, maybe we can try and see if there's anything else between us. What do you think?' She gave Harry what he thought was a hopeful look.

'Um ... I mean, well ...' Harry stuttered. He cursed himself inwardly for getting so tongue-tied.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. 'Is that a no or ...?'

'NO! I mean, it's not a no. It's a yes. Argh, I'm so bad at this,' groaned Harry. He wished the ground would just open up and swallow him whole.

Hermione giggled. 'Come on Harry, where's the bravado that you had last night when you kissed me in front of the entire school?' she said teasingly.

'Probably upstairs still asleep,' mumbled Harry as he felt his face flush. 'So do we ... um, do we can go on a date then?'

'I'd like that,' smiled Hermione. 'How about next Hogsmeade weekend? We could just go to the Three Broomsticks and have a couple of Butterbeers or something.'

Harry nodded, still feeling a little flustered. Hermione, who seemed to sense this, slowly took his hand in hers. 'Listen, Harry,' said Hermione as she gently squeezed it. 'I don't want you to worry about this. I mean, I do like you a lot, but I want to take things slow. And I have a feeling you'd like that as well, am I right?'

'Yeah, definitely,' said Harry with some relief.

'Well, that's good. We'll just figure things out as we go along, ok?' She squeezed his hand again. 'Would you like to go for a walk? We can talk about what Cedric told you about the egg.'

'Actually, I may have a better idea.' Hermione looked at him quizzingly. 'I just figured that Sirius would appreciate a letter telling him about what a good idea it was to ask you out.'

'I see,' she said with a grin. 'Ok, let's go up to the Owlery then.'

Harry smiled as Hermione's fingers intertwined with his. As they made their way out of the portrait hole and up to the owlery, Harry couldn't help marvelling how a simple letter made him finally realise just how important Hermione was to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kind reviews. I really hope you all enjoyed the final chapter in this three-part story.
> 
> For those who don't know, the lyrics of the song are from "Magic Works" by The Weird Sisters (in-universe), as heard in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I would definitely recommend you listen to it and imagining Harry and Hermione dancing and kissing to this wonderful song.
> 
> I have a couple of one-shots planned for now and, between writing this three-parter, I've started writing them up as well. Hopefully, I will post them soon enough for all of you to enjoy.


End file.
